I forgot to tell you about one of my resolutions, which was to do a post at the end of each month tracking what I’d been up to. I’m hoping this will help me in lots of ways, particularly when it comes to end of year roundups, when I’m normally desperately racking my brain to think of what I’ve been listening to and watching and reading. I’m also keeping track of my monthly sales in each of my shops and my completed projects. To make it more interesting for you, I’m adding links to new blogs I’ve been enjoying so you can have a read too.
Books I enjoyed:
– Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now by Andrew Collins
Not as good as the one about his childhood but entertaining, and I got it for free.
– Journey to the Jade Sea by John Hillaby
John Hillaby has rocketed into my favourite authors list on the strength of this book, an account of a trek in Kenya in the 1960s. As mentioned previously, I am a big fan of bumbling, rambling writers who can talk up the most inconsequential incidents into an enormously entertaining adventure. John Hillaby is exactly like that. I will have to dig around the second hand book shops for his other works.
– Mountains of the Moon by Patrick Synge
Oh, how I loved this book – an account of an expedition to Africa in the 1930s by some botanists and entomologists (yes, I like old books about expeditions). The author is so enthused by plants and flowers that it brings a tear to the eye, and he describes the landscapes and journeys so well. Also added the word floriferous into my vocabulary.
Good films I watched:
– Kung Fu Panda
Projects completed:
– Graphics for Petit a Porter
– Shopify store for Red Panda Chainmaille
– Tumblr for my portfolio stuff
– Pictorial tag system for my shop
– Cakeify badges and cards
– Desk calendar
– Shopify store for New Generation Clothing
– Shopify tutorials for Prettify
– Dawanda shop
– Shopify store for Mama’s Little Babies
– London Travel Companions
– Retail list for stockists
Interesting new websites in my RSS:
– Caustic Cover Critic (book cover design)
– The Vintage Cookbook Trials (hilarious AND informative)
– Try Handmade
– Beru Betto (amazing tutorials)
– The Bedside Crow (amusing bookseller’s blog)
– Honey is Funny (my mate, and diskanteer, Chris finally has a blog)
– The Fabric Shopper
Exciting things I purchased:
– Fabric stamper inks in Black and Celadon (ooh, fancy) from Stamping Mad
– Business cards, sticky notes and cards from VistaPrint
– Zines from Emma Jane Falconer
– Deth P Sun zines from Little Paper Planes
– Stack of kawaii for the Super Cute Kawaii shop
Most listened to artists, according to Last.fm:
1. Girls Aloud
2. Huggy Bear
3. James Orr Complex
4. Lykke Li
5. Findo Gask
6. Annie
7. Errors
8. Mogwai
9. Pet Shop Boys
10. Robyn
Online sales:
Items sold on Shopify: 39
Items sold on Etsy: 20
Items sold on Folksy: 12
Items sold on Dawanda: 1
Well, there we are. Definitely a month of staying in, reading books and working hard. How was your January?
